Teen texter at wheel nearly paid with his life

With every step, the pain in Zachary Abraham foot reminds him of more than a year of his life he lost after his car hit a concrete wall while he was texting and driving.

DEBORAH CIRCELLIEDUCATION WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — Zachary Abraham feels like "little needles" are stabbing his right foot as he does calf raises on a weight machine at Planet Fitness in Ormond Beach. But he's worked too hard to give up. And he wants others to know what he's been through and not make the same mistake. With every step the 19-year-old takes, the pain in his foot reminds him of more than a year of his life he lost after his car hit a concrete wall in July 2010 while he was texting and driving. His family is lucky he survived after he was cut out of his car and airlifted to a hospital near his hometown in Alabama. He spent two months in the hospital, including about a week in a coma in the intensive care unit. His jaw was broken in two places and he almost lost his right foot after his heel bone shattered when the impact on the brake pedal gouged a large hole in his heel. He had his mouth wired shut for 12 weeks; endured numerous oral, facial and foot surgeries; ate through a feeding tube and got intravenous antibiotics for months. Now Abraham is trying to spread the word to others about the dangers of texting and driving. He'd like to see a ban in Florida similar to other states. "Maybe I can save other people's lives by telling them not to do it," he said. "I screwed up a big chunk of my life. I don't want anybody to make the same mistake I did." Abraham, who has developed a PowerPoint presentation of his story and injuries, joins a movement statewide that includes Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson and legislators proposing bills in the upcoming session that would prohibit driving while using a wireless device for texting. Another proposed bill looks at not only prohibiting texting, but also banning hand-held wireless communication such as cellphones without a hands-free device. Florida is one of six states that don't prohibit texting while driving. Thirty-nine states ban texting for all drivers. Others have limited bans. Abraham, who still has four metal plates in his jaw, tells others that texting while driving is "not worth it." Looking down at his phone and responding to a friend's text was all it took for him to run off a county road, hit a wall and injure himself and his friend in the passenger seat, according to the Alabama Highway Patrol. The report says he was texting and "distracted by use of electronic communication device." Alabama did not have a law prohibiting texting while driving until this year, so he was not charged.

A YEAR LOST

Abraham, who moved to Daytona Beach this past January and will graduate from WyoTech technical school on Friday, missed his entire 11th grade of school as he recovered at home. He tried to return to his 12th grade year but was too far behind, according to his family, and ended up dropping out and getting his GED. He missed the majority of high school football games and dances except a couple he tried to attend in a wheelchair. He didn't get about on his own without crutches or the wheelchair for about a year, he said. His friend also was airlifted to the hospital with injuries from the crash. Then 16 and only driving for less than a year, Abraham routinely "would have the phone in my right hand and drive with my left hand and look back and forth to my phone and the road."

His mother, Ginger Kaley of Fairhope, Ala., who is coming to the graduation with other members of the family, said doctors wanted to remove his right foot but the family wanted to see if he could recover. He had metal pins in his toes, underwent about 10 foot surgeries and lost a large part of his heel, she said. Doctors said he would never be able to run or jump. But after physical therapy in Alabama and spending the past year in Daytona Beach training and working out almost daily, he can run a short distance though he's still in pain. "I'm really proud of him. He really worked hard to get where he is at," his mom said. "I'm very thankful he's alive and doing so good." He's put back the weight he lost from being on a feeding tube for months. "It's like I'm normal again. The only thing that hurts is my foot," Abraham said. "It's a constant reminder every step I take." His family was also impacted. His mom, who was in nursing school at the time of the accident, had to drop out to care for her son for a year. Even though she's still paying medical bills, she has since graduated as a licensed practical nurse and is seeking to become a registered nurse. She said she warned her son about texting, but "you don't know what (your kids) will do when they get behind the wheel." She hopes other parents will talk to their children and show them photos of what can happen. Abraham said he now leaves his phone in the passenger seat or between the seats when driving, though he usually rides his bike to the gym or rides with friends. His recovery has not been without struggles. He was in an accident earlier this year in April in Daytona Beach when his truck hit two vehicles while changing lanes. He pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was placed on six months' probation. He told officers at the time that he had been taking Lortab pain medication, according to the police report. This past week, he said he had been on prescribed pain medication since his 2010 accident but came off of it after the April accident this year and is using over-the-counter medicine. His mom said doctors told her he would be in chronic pain the rest of his life. He struggled getting off the pain medication after each surgery but she says he has succeeded. One of his WyoTech instructors, Richard Mackowiak, said Abraham had to spend some time in classes earlier this year sitting down to work on engines because of his foot, "but that did not hinder him. He's a good student."

'TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE'

Now Abraham's just trying to reach as many people as possible with his story. While still in Alabama at the end of last year, he refused to stay in friends' cars who were texting and called his mom to pick him up, she said. "He's really trying to help people," his mother said. "Maybe it will save some lives. If they are touched by something he says, it will make them think twice about it." Other groups locally also would like to see an end to texting while driving. Sheriff Johnson supports legislation prohibiting texting. He said the Florida Sheriff's Association also supports a change. He said texting should be a "primary offense." "Texting while driving is just so dangerous it needs to be addressed," Johnson said. "We see it all the time. You are riding along and see people texting and it's at a critical stage (as far as) how bad it is. We know it's creating traffic accidents. It's a safety factor and we need to do something to make our highways safer." Through Johnson's urging, the Volusia Council of Governments, which includes 15 cities, the county and School Board, passed resolutions in November asking the Legislature to "ban texting while driving." The resolution points to national statistics that show sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, which at 55 mph would be the equivalent of driving the length of a football field blind. Mary Swiderski, executive director of the council, said the council is also asking all of its cities to pass resolutions and send them to legislators. Swiderski said: "We are all guilty of that crime even if it's just to look down to see who is calling." But she said if a law is passed and fines are attached to it, "it may make some people more responsible." Abraham wishes he had made a different decision in 2010. But he feels God gave him a second chance to help others avoid the same mistake. He plans to make presentations in Alabama, where he will move after graduation, and send his story to Florida legislators. He has a construction job waiting in Birmingham until he finds a job working on boats, which was his degree focus at WyoTech. "I don't want people to feel pity for me," he said. "I came a long way to show people you can do anything if you just set your mind to it."

Statistics on distracted drivers In 2011 in Florida, there were 25,156 accidents involving distracted drivers, including 2,770 involving electronic communication devices such as cellphones, according to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Those ages 20 to 24 accounted for the largest amount with 614 of the 2,770 accidents. In 2010 in the U.S., 3,092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 18% of injury crashes in 2010 were reported as distraction-affected crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 48% of all teens ages 12-17 say they have been in a car when the driver was texting, according to Pew Research Center.